Discovering Little Wonders – German BioImaging at the Maustüröffnertag 2026
"Discovering Small Wonders" – this is the motto for the Mouse Door Open Day 2026, which takes place every year on October 3rd. This year too, several Imaging Core Facilities from the German BioImaging (GerBI) network are opening their doors and inviting children to discover [...]
GerBI at ELMI 2026 in Coimbra – A Week Full of Science & Community
City of Coimbra ELMI 2026 The beautiful Portuguese city of Coimbra welcomed the European light microscopy community for ELMI 2026, and German BioImaging (GerBI) was there in full force! From poster presentations and invited talks to community sessions and industry networking, it was an [...]
Our Journey to Defining GerBI’s Vision and Mission
At GerBI, crafting our vision and mission wasn’t just a task, it was a journey. A journey of reflection, discussion, and shared discovery. We asked ourselves the big questions: What do we stand for? Where are we heading together? What drives us? Starting with Why [...]
GerBI Community Meeting 2026 – Recap
The GerBI Community Meeting 2026 participants, picture by Christian Schmidt GerBI Community Meeting 2026: Bringing the GerBI Community Together From March 16-18, 2026, the beautiful Frauenberg Conference Monastery in Fulda transformed into a vibrant meeting place for the bioimaging community as GerBI hosted its [...]
Sustainability in Focus: GerBI at the Volkswagen Foundation Workshop
On 8-9 December 2025, we represented GerBI at a workshop hosted by the Volkswagen Foundation at Schloss Herrenhausen in Hannover. Janina Hanne and Stefanie Weidtkamp-Peters joined colleagues from ten innovative projects across Germany to explore an increasingly important question for our community: how can we use [...]
GerBI meets the German Optical Museum Jena (D.O.M) – What makes microscopy truly engaging?
In October 2025 GerBI started a cooperation with the German Optical Museum in Jena. This blog article gives insights on the cooperation and the workshop-series carried out in november and december 2025. Background to the GerBI/D.O.M. Cooperation What makes a microscopy exhibit truly engaging? This was [...]
Sustainability in Focus: GerBI at the Volkswagen Foundation Workshop
On 8-9 December 2025, we represented GerBI at a workshop hosted by the Volkswagen Foundation at Schloss Herrenhausen in Hannover. Janina Hanne and Stefanie Weidtkamp-Peters joined colleagues from ten innovative projects across Germany to explore an increasingly important question for our community: how can we use research equipment more sustainably without compromising scientific excellence?
From the start, the atmosphere was open, collaborative, and engaging. The range of ideas was impressive, from hands-on repair initiatives and smart equipment databases to successful equipment transfer models and even the recycling of an entire institute’s instrumentation.
The GerBI poster at the workshop. Hand-drawn directly on-site.
We shared GerBI’s own contributions, including our work on OME-Zarr and quality assurance in microscopy, and found that these topics resonated widely. Funders from the DFG and the Leibniz Association also contributed valuable perspectives to the discussions.
Day one focused on connecting, with poster sessions sparking lively conversations and new contacts, followed by a fun spaghetti-and-marshmallow team challenge that highlighted the collaborative spirit of the workshop. On day two, participants focused on practical planning, identifying shared challenges, and outlining concrete next steps.
A key theme emerged: sharing research equipment offers clear scientific, economic, and environmental benefits, but legal and financial hurdles remain. Another important point was the challenge of documenting the real cost savings of sustainable actions, as many benefits arise from costs that are simply avoided.
We left Hannover with practical ideas for GerBI members, visions for a Germany-wide equipment database, and plans for a potential GerBI sustainability concept. Above all, the workshop reinforced that sustainability in research infrastructure is not just a responsibility. it’s an opportunity to work more efficiently, save resources, and support high-quality research.
Steffi and Janina at the workshop.
We look forward to continuing these discussions within the GerBI community and advancing sustainability in research together.
Blogpost written by: Janina Hanne
